Folding egg-case.



No. 627,745. Patented lune 27, :899.

n. A. nEMonEsT. I

FOLDING EG-G cAsE.

(Appumion med one'. s, 189s.)

(No Model.)

Earl

(Ea/wub 04 l EL? UNITED STATES PATENT- muon;`A

DAVID A. DEMOREST, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FOLDING EGG-CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,745, dated June 27, 1899.

Application filed October 3, l 8 9 8.

To all whom, it m/cty con/037%:

Be it known that I, DAVID A. DEMoREsT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county o f Cook and State of Illinois, lhave invented certain lnew and useful Improvements in Folding Egg-Cases, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to improvements in the wooden boxes or cases used for storing and shipping eggs, such boxes or cases being, in fact, the outer receptacles within which the pasteboard racks or fillers that contain the eggs are packed.

The object of the inventionis to provide an improved folding construction in Wooden cases or boxes of this character which shall be simple and cheap to manufacture, strong and durable in service, easy to set up and knock down, and capable of being readily handled by the ordinary unskilled labor usually employed in this branch of industry.

The invention contemplates an improved construction of the box as a whole and also an improved fastening device by whichthe cover of the case islocked in closed position.

The invention consists in the matters herein set forth, and particularly pointed out in the appended claim, and will be fully understood from the following description of the construction Aset forth in the accompanying drawings, in whichl Figure lis a perspective view of an eggcase embodying my invention. Fig.A 2 is al similar view of the same case knocked down or folded flat for storage and transportation. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a top plan section taken on line 4. 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional detail of the fastening device. Fig. 6 is a perspective detail of a corner of the box.

In said drawings, A designates the case as a whole, the same consisting of front and back walls ct and a', respectively, end walls a2, and top and bottom walls a3 and a4, respectively. The front and back walls yare each secured to the end walls by hinges B,- which are so made and applied that said four main walls of the box-z'. e., its front and back and end walls-can be folded iiat upon each other after the manner shown in Fig. 2. lSaid hinges are made of sheet metal, with straps b,

Serial No; 692,467. (No modell) the straps b is provided with several integral hollow ears or knuckles b, which interlock with the similar parts of the other strap of the hinge,and a single pivot-pin bextending from top to bottom of the case, is passed through their registering apertures to connect the straps together. The bottom a4 is in this instance made in a separate piece of rectangular shape and of substantially the exact ldimensions of the insidel of the box or case when set up, so that when inserted transversely between the upright walls ct, a', and a2' it holds them rigidly at right angles to each other. When placed within the box in this manner, it is designed to rest upon cleats a5 on the inner faces of said upright Walls, at the lower edges thereof, and will ordinarily be held down in contact therewith by the friction of its engagement with said upright Walls and by the weight of the contents of the case when filled. Any suitable fastening devices may, however, be additionally supplied if deemed desirable for any special service. The top or cover a3 is made to yslide in grooves d, provided in the inner faces of, two opposite upright walls, which in this instance are the end walls a2, although it will be obvious that said cover could equally well be made to slide endwise between the front and rearvwalls if so desired. In the construction shown the rear wall a is cut down at its upper edge on a level with the lower edges of the grooves a6, so that the cover can be slid into said grooves oversaid rear wall. When pushed home, the front edge of said cover then abuts against the inner face of the front wall a, the Upper lbe threaded through a hole punched or bored IOO in the end of the bolt C, the split in the ring being cut through or formed on a plane which stands at an angle with the axis of the ring,

as shown in Fig. 5, so that the ring must be twisted over at a corresponding angle (desirably about forty-five degrees) before it can be passed over the bolt and threaded through the hole in the latter. As herein shown, the bolt C is made in the form of a thin flat piece of metal driven into the cover and secured therein by dowel-pins or nails c. As a further improvement, also, the front wall of the box at the point of its engagement with the bolt is cut out and provided with a countersunk metallic casing A', which may be made Aof either sheet or cast metal and within the depressed center of which the projecting end of the bolt and inserted split fastening-ring will be wholly contained, so that the fastening device as awhole may be said to be flush with the front of the box and cannot form any undesirable projection or obstruction on the same. The fastening thus provided is not only extremely simple and durable and easy to manufacture and manipulate, but extremely efficient, since the natural tendency of the weight of the ring will be to hold it in a vertical position instead of at the forty-fivedegree angle necessary to its removal, so that consequently no amount of shaking or jarring would ever be liable to detach the ring from the bolt. Moreover, by making the angular cut in the ringof a width slightly less than the thickness of the bolt, so that it must be sprung open slightly in applying it to the bolt or in removing it therefrom, an additional safeguard against the accidental detachment of the ring may be afforded without making it difficult to apply or remove by the use of the fingers alone and without preventing the ring from being made of such heavy and stiff material as to fully resist any strain to which it may ever be subjected.

It will be understood that the fastening device thus described may be advantageously employed on other styles of boxes and cases and in other connections, and it is accordingly hereinafter claimed separately, Aas well as in connection with the improved construction of folding case hereinbefore described. In folding the latter llat for shipment the top and bottom may either be left outside, as shown in Fig. 2, or may be placed together between the collapsed upright walls of the case. Both the top and bottom will also be understood to be reversible and may be differently labeled or stenciled on opposite sides-as, for example, with different shipping directions. This reversibility of the cover is permitted by the central location of the bolt C, which will consequently register with the aperture in the casing A' whichever of its faces is turned upward. This capacity is of great advantage in connection with regular shipments back and forth between a merchant and his customers, in which case one side of the cover can be permanently stenciled with the merchants nameand the other devoted to that of the particular customer for whom the shipment is intended, so that in returning the box-it Will only be necessary to reverse the cover in order to make the necessary change in shipping directions. It will also be understood that while primarily designed as an improvement in the manufacture of egg-cases my invention may also be employed in the construction of boxes or crates for any other purpose, as well as for that mentioned.

I claim as my invention-n As a new article of manufacture, a folding case A comprising front and rear walls a and d', respectively, end walls a2, sheet -metal hinges B applied inside the case at each corner and made with continuous straps b extending from top to bottom of the walls and secured to the latter so as to reinforce and strengthen them, each of said straps being formed with several hollow ears or knuckles b which interlock with the similar parts of the other strap and form a continuous hole through which the pivot-pin b2 of the hinge is passed, the bottom a4 made in a separate removable piece of rectangular shape of the dimensions of the inside of the box or case when set up, cleats a5 on the inner faces of the walls at the lower edges thereof for supporting said bottom, grooves a6 in the inner faces of the end walls a2 near the upper edges thereof, the rear wall a' being terminated at its upper edge at the level of the lower margins of said grooves and the front wall ct being continued up to the full height of the end Wall, cover a3 sliding in said grooves ce and abutting when closed against the inner face of the front wall a, bolt O projecting forward from the front edge of' the cover, aperture c2 in the front wall of the box through which said bolt projects, and a fastening device for locking said bolt in engagement with said aperture, said bolt being placed midway between the ends of the cover and also midway between its upper and lower surfaces so that it always registers with said aperture whichever side up the cover is placed, thereby permitting the latter to be reversed, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aiiix my signature hereto, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this lst day of October, A. D. 1898.

DAVID A. DEMOREST.

IOO 

